RiverLand Roofing backs Rebel legends in star-studded Ole Miss Celebrity Softball Game

Ole Miss athletics on Thursday, June 5 is putting on a celebrity softball game presented by RiverLand Roofing. 

The event will feature a host of Rebel coaches and greats competing against each other to raise money for the Grove Collective. 

Among the headliners already announced are Lane Kiffin, Chris Beard, Yolett McPhee-McCuin, Dexter McCluster, Marshall Henderson, Terence Davis, Keith Carter and Donte Moncrief.

Former Ole Miss offensive lineman Javon Patterson will play, too. “Gotta start getting in the batting cages, for real,” he said. Patterson has played a leading role in organizing the game as part of his role as Ole Miss’ associate director of development for former student-athlete relations.

“In this age of college athletics, just finding ways to keep people engaged,” Patterson said in a one-on-one with the Ole Miss Spirit. “New ways to raise money. Came to the idea with the administration. Thanks to Keith and Matt McLaughlin, got this jumping off with Walker Jones (head of the Grove Collective). With that, we just got the ball rolling.”

The inaugural event will take place at the new Ole Miss Softball Stadium. 

A home run derby, presented by Funkys, will kick off the festivities at 5 p.m. CT, followed by the game an hour later. A 30-minute autograph/photo session with select players will be available afterwards.

“We’re all family in athletics,” Patterson said. “Everybody got on it. You see this similar model for athletes. Kyler Murray just had one for a fundraiser. Sadly, this is going to be in between some minicamps, so some of our current NFL guys can’t come, but we’ve got some legends who will be announced pretty soon that’s going to be back.”

RELATED: How Ole Miss is navigating the portal with Grove Collective’s Walker Jones

Fans can purchase tickets at TheGroveCollective.com.

Organizers will donate two dollars from every ticket directly to the Grove Collective.

“We’ll have some giveaways, we’ll have some auctions (and) maybe some fan interaction between the games,” Patterson said. “We definitely want them to be involved. It’s going to be a great atmosphere.”

OleMissSports.com will stream the event. The Ole Miss Spirit will be live from the field with a Talk of Champions podcast, hosted by RiverLand Roofing. 

Text or call RiverLand today for all your roofing needs: 662-644-4297. Few, if any, are doing more for Ole Miss athletics in the name, image and likeness space. Visit them online at RiverLandRoofing.com.

“It’s been tremendous,” Patterson said of the relationship with RiverLand. “Billy (Landes) and his team, they go above and beyond. Their love for Ole Miss shows, as does their love for the Oxford and North Mississippi communities. They’ve always been involved, but excited to get them involved for this. We’ve already sold probably over 500 tickets. Looking forward to getting more.”

The Grove Collective is the official collective of Ole Miss athletics. 

More than 300 Rebel student-athletes, spanning every Ole Miss team, receive support from the Collective and its 80+ corporate sponsors and 5,000+ active monthly subscribers.

“We’re thrilled to launch events such as this that not only create lasting memories for fans but benefit The Grove Collective,” Carter said. “The event also provides a special chance to welcome home some great Rebels of the past, and I’m looking forward to joining them on the field for a fun and meaningful night. We will continue to seek opportunities to collaborate with The Grove Collective while engaging Rebel Nation in new and exciting ways.”

“We’re excited to kick off a summer of giving opportunities with best-in-class events like this which highlight the coordination and alignment between The Grove Collective and our university partners,” Jones said. “We look forward to seeing our fans engage with current and former athletes throughout the summer as we continue to lead in the world of name, image and likeness.”